PREVIEW 8:00 AM EDT
In a matchup of two Draft lottery-bound teams, the 24th-ranked Philadelphia Flyers (19-22-3) are on the road tonight to take on the 28th-place Carolina Hurricanes (17-23-3). The game starts at 7:00 p.m. and will broadcast locally on CSN Philly.
This is the third and final meeting between the teams this season and the lone game in Carolina. The teams last played on consecutive Saturdays in Philadelphia.
On Feb. 2, the Flyers won 5-3 behind three power play goals. Kurtis Foster (PPG), Braydon Coburn, Danny Briere (PPG), Mike Knuble and Claude Giroux (PPG) scored for the Flyers, while victorious goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov was tested frequently in making 39 saves. Joni Pitkänen, Eric Staal and Patrick Dwyer tallied for the Canes.
One week later, the Flyers took a 5-4 overtime decision on a goal by Briere. After Carolina's Jiri Tlusty opened the scoring just 17 seconds into the first period, tallies by Brayden Schenn and Matt Read built a 2-1 lead for the Flyers by the early stages of the middle stanza. Jeff Skinner answered back for the Canes but Jakub Voracek scored on the next shift to restore the one-goal lead for Philly. In the third period, Joe Corvo re-tied the game at 4-4 to eventually force OT. Briere's overtime goal was the 39th regular season game-winning goal of his career and the 11th regular season overtime goal.
Fast forward two months: The Flyers and Hurricanes have both been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, rendering tonight's match meaningless beyond potential Draft lottery significance, job auditions and personal statistical goals.
The Flyers are coming off a crushing 3-0 home defeat at the hands of the New Jersey Devils. While the playoffs were an unlikely destination for Philadelphia, this game was the virtual final nail in the coffin of a highly disappointing 2013 campaign.
Carolina has long since packed it in for the year, dropping nine of their last 10 games (1-8-1). The club is coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Winnipeg.
On the injury front, Philadelphia is without defensemen Nicklas Grossmann (concussion), Braydon Coburn (separated shoulder), Andrej Meszaros (torn rotator cuff) and Bruno Gervais (abdominal muscle tear) the rest of the season. Defenseman Kent Huskins (concussion) is also unlikely to play again this year. Up front, the Flyers are without Max Talbot (broken leg) and Zac Rinaldo (high ankle sprain) for the rest of the year.
Carolina's injury list is significant in its own right. The team is missing goaltender Cam Ward (knee), defenseman Joni Pitkanen (heel) and forwards Tim Brent (lower body) and Drayson Bowman (upper body). Former Calder orward Jeff Skinner (upper body) is considered questionable for tonight.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
12 Simon Gagne - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
19 Scott Hartnell - 10 Brayden Schenn - 48 Danny Briere
24 Matt Read - 14 Sean Couturier - 17 Wayne Simmonds
26 Ruslan Fedotenko - 18 Adam Hall - 37 Jay Rosehill or 9 Mike Knuble
44 Kimmo Timonen - 29 Erik Gustafsson
38 Oliver Lauridsen - 22 Luke Schenn
32 Brandon Manning - 3 Kurtis Foster
35 Steve Mason
[30 Ilya Bryzgalov]
HURRICANES
Jiri Tlusty - Eric Staal - Alexander Semin
Tuomo Ruutu - Jordan Staal - Chad LaRose
Nicolas Blanchard - Riley Nash - Pat Dwyer
Tim Wallace - [Eric or Jordan Staal] - Kevin Westgarth
Justin Faulk - Tim Gleason
Joe Corvo - Jay Harrison
Bobby Sanguinetti - Jamie McBain
Marc-Andre Bergeron - [Justin Faulk or Tim Gleason]
Justin Peters/ Dan Ellis
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